


Because you're my idiot

by Fallenangel_Winchester



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Fluff, Gwaine Being Gwaine (Merlin), Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Oblivious Merlin (Merlin), Protective Arthur, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-24
Updated: 2019-02-24
Packaged: 2019-11-04 21:02:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17905580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fallenangel_Winchester/pseuds/Fallenangel_Winchester
Summary: Arthur is the only one who's can call Merlin an idiot, it takes Merlin a while to notice it.





	Because you're my idiot

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying to get out of this almost writer's block thing, so this is the result of it.   
> It's a bit longer than I planned it to be, and maybe a bit angsty...not enough fluffy...   
> Still hope you'll at least find it enjoyable. 
> 
> Comments and suggestions are always welcomed. I want to write more about this pairing so...new ideas would be much appreciated. 
> 
> Thanks for reading.

“If I were you, I would refrain from insulting my manservant and before you start, let me explain. Merlin is my personal manservant and even though I call him an idiot, I'd prefer if you don't use that word when talking about him.”

“But sire, his suggestion is outrageous…”

“Do I have to remind all of you that the one you called idiot was the only one who stood by my side when Morgana took over the throne? When I was fighting to get back my birthright, he was right next to me, supporting me and my knights. And where were you good sirs when your future king needed you? I will not allow that kind of words and if you come up with a better plan you're more than welcomed to share it with me. That would be all for now. The council is dismissed.”

“Yes, sire.” 

Merlin had enough sense left to step back in order not to be seen when the council members left the room. Years spent in the castle hiding in the shadows, he'd become quite good at disappearing, so no one actually noticed him as they walked out chattering amongst themselves. 

The moment each one of them disappeared out of sight Arthur walked out and didn't stop, anger and annoyance more than obvious in his fast pace. Merlin waited until they were in the royal chambers to speak his mind. 

“You really shouldn't anger them.”

“Oh, you heard that didn't you?”

“Well, you weren't trying to be quiet.”

“Of course you heard that, those ears finally started working, huh.” he sounded amused as if nothing had happened. 

It was enough to push through Merlin’s unexpected tightness in his chest and make him ask. 

“Why did you say that? About me being an idiot? It's not like you don't call me that all the time.”

There was a spark in Arthur’s eyes before it faded, leaving place for the usual eye roll. 

“That's different and besides that's not the point.”

“What's the point?”

“The point is that by calling you an idiot they offend me.”

It was more than obvious that Merlin’s face showed confusion that made the king to let out a tired sigh before he started explaining like he was talking to a child. 

“If the king has chosen an idiot for a manservant what does that say about him? That his judgment can't be trusted and I don't want those grumpy lords to question my every move, my father didn't allow that and I don't plan to change that. Did that answer your question?”

“Well, I still think…I mean I don't mind being called like that as long as it doesn't get you, me in trouble…” he rambled in desperate attempt to silence the pounding heartbeat in his ears. 

“Merlin, leave the talking to me, alright? Now aren't you forgetting something?” 

“What? I don't…Oh.” he remembered what he was supposed to do. 

“Oh…” Arthur mirrored his expression before he carefully pushed him towards the door and with a final ‘don't be late’ closed the door behind him. 

The young warlock was so lost in his thoughts that he twice took the wrong corridor and by the time he brought the king his dinner, the food got cold. He found him half asleep with his head leaning on his hand, soft and unguarded, such a rare sight for him. His attempts not to startle the more than a little tired man failed as they tended to do whenever he tried, still he got away with a weak ear cuff and a rough ‘idiot’ that kept him warm for the rest of the evening. 

 

In the morning Gaius commented on his confused expression, his sharp gaze taking in Merlin’s face before he chuckled and asked what was wrong. One look from those wise and exceptionally kind eyes got him talking. He told the old physician everything he heard, from the council's discussion to the king's words and reaction, but he didn't expect for him to give him the famous raised eyebrow look. 

It meant that he failed to notice something important and it was a look that tended to annoy him more than he admitted. 

“You're doing it again. What did I miss now?”

“Just that our prince has grown quite a lot and that in time he'll become one of the greatest kings that ever ruled this land.”

“So, he's right?”

“Honestly, dear boy, you act as if you can't wait for him to be wrong.” his voice was amused. 

“Because, he can be a real prat when he's right.”

That pulled out a proper belly laugh out of the old man, which in turn made Merlin chuckle too. 

“Now go before you're late.”

He stumbled over his own feet on the way out, pushing every thought to the back of his mind, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the real reason why the whole thing unsettled him and went to start his day. 

 

As the days went on, the young warlock forgot about the incident and continued protecting his king from the shadows while remaining the same clumsy manservant that everyone loved. Everyone in the castle joked around that if the king didn't say Merlin’s name that often, he'd forget it and call him an idiot instead. Of course that didn't bother him, since it was a joke and he had a sense of humor despite whatever Arthur said.

The knights were his friends, who occasionally acted like older brothers towards him, so they sometimes followed Gwaine’s lead and teased him for his clumsiness. All of that was good-natured and comfortable until a new knight called him a ‘big-eared fool’ _._ He simply shrugged it off, not allowing it to affect him or at least he tried to until he saw the faces of his friends. His flimsy mask of indifference cracked when the other knights turned against the new guy and gave him such a tongue lashing that would make Gaius proud. Merlin spent the rest of the day with a blush on his face and a small hidden smile that even Arthur noticed, but to his surprise didn't comment on it.

 

Again, everyday life soothed the sting of the insult, leaving only the words of praise to keep him warm like smoldering embers and that should have been the end. It wasn't. More than a week afterwards Merlin passed by sir Tom in the corridors and got startled by how miserable the knight appeared to be. If Merlin didn't know better he'd assume that the knight went a few rounds with both Gwaine and Percival, which wasn't possible…

As soon as that thought entered his head, he couldn't rest until he reassured himself that his friends weren't that mean, so he went to find them. Luck was on his side because he found both Leon and Gwaine in the training yard, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. The pleasantly relaxed atmosphere would have been enough to ease any tension in him, but there was a restlessness that itched under his skin and he had to get answers. His inner turmoil must have been visible on his face because Gwaine was the first to speak, 

“Are you alright Merlin?”

“Tell me you didn't go hard on sir Tom on purpose, I told you to let it go, I don't need an apology…”

“Merlin, I didn't do anything.”

“Really?”

Gwaine rolled his eyes and downright pouted as if the whole thing didn't agree with him. 

“Really, the princess got him first.”

“Gwaine” came Leon’s exasperated voice. 

“I'm not lying. It's sir Tom’s turn to train with Arthur and for once I completely agree with his highness’ methods.”

“It's alright Merlin, it looks worse than it really is. Don't worry.”

He mumbled a quiet ‘okay’ and rushed to leave them, his head overflowing with questions and possible answers to the biggest dilemma, why was Arthur mean towards the knight? It was unusual, the king trained his knights hard, constantly challenging them, but he was always fair and very patient with them, which didn't explain his actions. It couldn't have been because the knight was rude towards him could it?

_ Of course not, don't be an idiot,  _ his mind supplied, snapping him back to reality before he could start imagining that he was as important to his king as he was to him. He buried that deep inside of his heart and focused on doing his job, no time for fooling around when there were delegates coming in the following weeks. 

 

Everything was perfectly organized, the king had a polite smile on his face, while his eyes held that proud glint whenever he'd glance at his knights and his people, it was one of Merlin’s favorite thing about Arthur. The king and his delegates from the neighboring kingdom didn't have any complains during their stay and the young warlock was positive that they would sign the treaty his king spent a lot of time working on.

He got an encouraging smile from Leon and a cheeky one from Gwaine who was too busy having fun, drinking and telling stories that cheered everyone around. Merlin’s attention wandered around the big hall for a mindless check up, before it stopped on Arthur. 

The new garments gave him a regal look, the deep red complimented the golden crown on his head and the young warlock silently admitted that he had never looked more of a king than he did at the moment. 

It was enough of a distraction to prevent him from noticing the young servant who tripped over his own feet and if it wasn't for Merlin’s reflexes that finally kicked in, both of them would have pretty much showered the other king with wine. Unfortunately the grumpy older man noticed the mess that appeared to be too close to him for comfort and angrily got up. Insults were thrown their way, the younger servant hiding behind Merlin who stood protectively and took in all of the yelling as calmly as possible. Just as he thought the storm had passed away, he lifted his gaze and froze at the sight in front of him. 

Arthur, his king was standing in front of the other man, successfully blocking the blow of the hit that Merlin was supposed to take and was talking to him using his authority as both king and host. The young warlock didn't hear much of it, but he understood that his king was calming the situation while defending him. It seemed that the grumpy king didn't care about politeness, because he scowled and left the room. The night was ruined and it was all because Arthur stood on Merlin’s side, which left a bitter taste in his mouth. With a few simple orders the mess was fixed, but the relaxed atmosphere was gone, so the dinner was over and the king left without a word or a look at him. It turned out to be the coldest and restless night for the young warlock in a long while. 

After two days the king and his delegates left Camelot, the treaty was signed and the everyone was more than happy to leave the whole incident behind, but not Merlin. He was stewing for two days, trying but failing to confront Arthur about the defending part, but the king acted like nothing had happened. 

When there was no danger of ruining anything and a chance opened, Merlin took it. 

“I'm so glad he left. I hope I won't have to see him anytime soon.” his king complained in the safety of his chambers. 

“Yeah…”

“Alright, what's wrong with you? You've been looking at me like you're expecting me to do something reckless.”

“You're not?”

“I've never been reckless.” at it was too smug for Merlin to handle, so he snapped. 

“Standing up to the king like that and in a way scolding him looked pretty reckless to me.”

When he got not reaction other than Arthur’s slightly widened eyes and he poured out everything that worried him, 

“You could have started a fight, he was an angry and bitter man, he wanted an excuse for a fight and you stood on his way, it's not as if I'm not grateful that you stopped him, but I'm more worried about the consequences…what if he decides that you're too mild towards your subjects and uses that…what if…”

“Merlin, you idiot.”

“Why are you stopping everyone from calling me and idiot? Why do you act as if it's a personal insult towards you? Gwaine jokes that you left an impression that you're the only one who's allowed to call me that…what's happening?” he finished talking with flushed cheeks and struggling to breathe properly. 

“Listen to me Merlin, I won't repeat myself again. No one is allowed to hit you no matter who they are as long as you're in Camelot, I'm the only one who can call you an idiot, because I said so.”

“But why?”

“Because you're my idiot! Because you're important to me, because I wouldn't be where I'm now without your advices and support and because I care about you, you idiot. It's not an insult, it's something else…”

Merlin couldn't listen anymore, the pressure in his chest was too strong and he ran out of the chambers, he stopped when he was alone in an empty corridor where he sat on the ground and took countless deep breaths to calm himself down. 

_ You're my idiot.  _

That wasn't possible, it couldn't happen, Merlin wasn't worth the trouble, not when he was hiding his magic from Arthur. His king shouldn't risk anything for him, he would stay and protect him until he died but he couldn't allow himself to be the reason for Camelot’s ruin. Even if it meant to stamp over the newly bloomed hope in his chest. 

Unfortunately fate wasn't having it. One month after his decision to pretend that nothing changed, a month spent in awkward silences and stolen looks, with Arthur being unnaturally patient and silent, an angry sorcerer attacked Camelot. And what did Merlin do? He followed his instincts and heart and took the hit that was meant for Arthur, while successfully knocking out the sorcerer before he passed out. 

When he woke up he was startled at how worried his king looked, before it got replaced with a soft glare and a relieved sigh.

“Merlin, you really are an idiot. How many times should I tell you that you're not allowed to take a hit for me? I'm more than capable of taking care of myself.”

“But, I'm your idiot right?” 

Arthur tried to pull back, mouth pulled in a frown, ready to step back and give him room, when Merlin grabbed his hand and nervously mumbled,

“I'm sorry, I'm an idiot, but…” he took a deep breath breath and met his gaze. 

“I care about you too much to let something bad happen to you, not if I can stop it. You're going to be a great king and I'll do whatever I can to help you achieve that.”

“You're really an idiot Merlin, why do you think I let you call me names? “ he chuckled before he pressed a soft kiss on his cheek. 

“Take the day off, but tomorrow I'll expect for you to be on time.” he joked and started walking away. 

_ He could have given me a proper kiss at least,  _ his mind complained and just like that, Arthur turned around. Then he bend forward until he was hovering over Merlin, gently cupped his face and kissed him. Every thought in his mind fled and he only had enough sense to return the kiss, it ended with a quick peck and a fond ‘my idiot’, before his king left the room, leaving him dazzled


End file.
